Concepts,Theory, and Techniques: FACTORS AFFECTING THE PERCEIVED UTILIZATION OF COMPUTER-BASED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN THE OIL INDUSTRY

This study investigates factors that may affect the use of decision support systems. The independent variables investigated included: characteristics of the decision makers such as age, educational level, experience, and cognitive style; characteristics of the decision support system such as response time, accuracy, timeliness, relevancy of output, format, and the distance traveled to interact with the system; and characteristics of the implementation process such as user involvement, user training, and top management support. The study included 8 systems and 64 subjects from the oil industry. The results indicated that the most important variables affecting decision support system usage were accuracy of output, user training, relevancy of output, and the decision maker's experience. Subject Areas: Decision Support Systems, Information Management, and Organizational Behavior.